“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
Following on from my musings on the position of Polaris, I want to further explore descriptions of YHWH’s throne arena. There is a marvellous description in the Book of Enoch, Chapter 14 where we read:
“₁₀They elevated me aloft to heaven. I proceeded, until I arrived at a wall built with stones of crystal. A vibrating flame surrounded it, which began to strike me with terror. ₁₁Into this vibrating flame I entered; ₁₂And drew nigh to a spacious habitation built also with stones of crystal. Its walls too, as well as pavement, were formed with stones of crystal, and crystal likewise was the ground. Its roof had the appearance of agitated stars and flashes of lightning; and among them were cherubim of fire in a stormy sky. A flame burned around its walls; and its portal blazed with fire. When I entered into this dwelling, it was hot as fire and cold as ice. No trace of delight or of life was there. Terror overwhelmed me, and a fearful shaking seized me.₁₃Violently agitated and trembling, I fell upon my face. In the vision I looked.₁₄And behold there was another habitation more spacious than the former, every entrance to which was open before me, erected in the midst of a vibrating flame.₁₅So greatly did it excel in all points, in glory, in magnificence, and in magnitude, that it is impossible to describe to you either the splendour or the extent of it.₁₆Its floor was on fire; above were lightnings and agitated stars, while its roof exhibited a blazing fire.₁₇Attentively I surveyed it, and saw that it contained an exalted throne;₁₈The appearance of which was like that of frost; while its circumference resembled the orb of the brilliant sun; and there was the voice of the cherubim.₁₉From underneath this mighty throne rivers of flaming fire issued.₂₀To look upon it was impossible.₂₁One great in glory sat upon it: ₂₂Whose robe was brighter than the sun, and whiter than snow.”
From the highlighted sections I want to point out “its portal blazed with fire” and make a connection with this and the idea of Polaris being the star as it were in front, as a marker, of YHWH’s throne in the sky. Also, the fact that Enoch speaks of the crystal floor and walls and of the flames, “lighnings and agitated stars” – it is from these images that my imagination leads me to wonder if the crystal floor could reflect the colour from around the throne onto the earth below.
From the Book of Daniel, Chapter 7 v 9, we read:
“I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.”
And then from Revelation Chapter 4 v 2-3:
“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.”
In this passage from Revelation, we can see some wonderful colours mentioned including a rainbow. Now we have all heard about the phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis, sometimes called the Northern Lights, and some will have been lucky enough to have seen this wonderful sight. What if this spectacular display is YHWH’s presence being reflected onto earth through the crystal floor?
And furthermore: “Ezekiel in describing his vision of the “Throne of God” says–“Above the Firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a Throne, as the appearance of a Sapphire Stone: and upon the likeness of the Throne was the likeness as the appearance of a MAN above upon it. And I saw as the colour of Amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of His loins even upward, and from the appearance of His loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the Bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the GLORY OF THE LORD.” Ez. 1:26-28.” ₁
“Now there are two things in Ezekiel’s Vision that correspond with John’s Vision of the “THRONE OF GOD.” First that the form of the one who sat on the Throne could not be clearly distinguished or described, but that it was RESPLENDENT WITH LIGHT, which veiled the form or person; and secondly, that there was a RAINBOW ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE. The person of God then, as He sits upon His Throne, is veiled in a Glory that can only be compared to the shining of some beautiful gem. But one of the remarkable things about the Throne of God is, that it is surrounded by a “RAINBOW” that is emerald in colour.₁
When the image of the stars rotating around Polaris and the colours of the Aurora Borealis coincide, this makes a most marvellous picture as we see here:
This was what inspired me to paint the piece which heads this piece of writing. I particularly wanted to concentrate on the wonderful colours that form the Aurora Borealis and incorporate them into my painting together with the trees. (Custodians: Alex and Keera).
References
₁ http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/tbr/tbr021.htm
Photos from:
http://rando-lofoten.net/index.php/fr/meteo/aurores-boreales-activite-solaire
http://www.web-trotters.com/evasion-decouverte-aurores-boreales/
Creation, Pen and Brush 